faulker056

In approximately two weeks, emotions are going to run high as well as the register count. It's Valentine's Day and I'm here to play Cupid again. After you've dropped $150 on a nice Valentine's prix fixe menu, you need a nice soothing way to end the evening. Thanks to the 17 people that downloaded the Cheesy & Sleazy Volume I album last year, it's now back by (un)popular demand. Regardless, I'm going to put these mixes up anyway because it annoys people like my wife . And while we're dining at somewhere fancy this year, a little of this ear candy wouldn't hurt. If you're able to seal any sort of deal, I'll know I've done my job and continue to provide you with more slimy music. *tears* (1) Ambrosia - Biggest Part of Me (2) Atlantic Starr - Masterpiece (3) Benny Mardones - Into the Night (4) Berlin - Take My Breath Away (5) Bill Withers - Just the Two of Us (6) Bobby Brown - Rock W'cha (7) Bryan Adams - Everything I Do (8) D...

A few hours earlier, Jeni and I were able to sample one of Bourdain's first pit stops in his No Reservations: Vietnam episode – a Vietnamese crepe-like snack called banh xeo that was both fun to eat and somewhat tasty. We got there the hard way and saw first hand how hectic Saigon street traffic was from the perspective of a cyclo transport. No thanks, we were done with that tourist trap. At our guest house, we were able to rent a scooter for only $7 the whole day, which was killer cheap. Jeni didn't like the idea of it, nor would the mother-in-law, but hey, you only live once. We pulled out our little food itinerary and talked about our next destination. There was just too much to eat but since we were on the Bourdain tip, we might as well have paid a visit to the lunch lady he also visited on the episode. This stall was a bit out off the radar but it only meant more good times on the scooter. Thanks to Cathy's many nice postings on her blog, Gastronomy, we were a...

FYI. The "46A" in the restaurant name refers to the address. Pho restaurants like Pho 54, Pho 79 and Pho 87, contrary to belief, do not indicate the years in which the families emigrated from Vietnam – they are the addresses of their business back in Vietnam. But Pho 69, that could be an entirely different story. Rewind to the previous day, before the monstrous breakfast I had. When Jeni and I arrived in Saigon, we had already printed out a list of things/places we wanted to eat. Even though there was Vietnam's review site, cleverly named Yup! we were good to go. Three pages of paragraphs detailing exact locations of restaurants or stalls. With the help of our friend MN, we pretty much had a scavenger hunt map in our hands. No photos, but only descriptions that would take us through tight alleys and hair-raising traffic to places we would never have dreamt of finding. Another bit of inspiration is always Anthony Bourdain. In Season 5, Episode 10, he travels...

Since the first day I was with Jeni, I told her that I wanted to see Vietnam. I had a lot of Vietnamese friends in college and they had introduced me to the Vietnamese culture in Orange County, California. It was one food I enjoyed eating and wanted to know more about it. Both the cities of Westminster and Garden Grove are better known to outsiders as Little Saigon, the largest Vietnamese enclave in California. To Vietnamese immigrants, it was a satellite home with many of the attributes of their country, completely intact. To the group I had met in college, Little Saigon meant occasional visitations to tailor shops to make my own slacks, late nights dining at the old Spire's diner, weekend loiterings at the Asian Garden Mall ( Phuoc Loc Tho ), karaoke lounges, Vietnamese electronic clubs and of course, a TON of good eating. In 2007, we had an amazing trip to Yangshuo, China . She was meeting me in Hong Kong via Vietnam , and from there we would take off to Southern C...

Warning: Video isn't for everybody. A reader (thank you Saori) sent me this poignant, yet powerful video of a butcher and his pig . It's shot beautifully and laced with the moving sounds of one of my favorite groups, Kings of Convenience . I thought this was done very well.

We're finally back home from our amazing trip to Southeast Asia. Eighteen days, six cities and a ton of photography... hope to make you drool over your keyboard. The people were friendly (for the most part) and the food was excellent. Also, did you know that Vietnam has its version of Yelp!? It's cleverly named, Yup!. Check it out .